When it comes to removing water from sludge, sediment, or industrial waste, project owners and contractors typically face a choice between passive geotextile tube dewatering and traditional mechanical dewatering methods. Flint Technical Geosolutions has spent over two decades helping clients navigate this decision — and for many applications, geotextile tubes offer significant advantages in cost, scale, and simplicity.
What Geotextile Tube Dewatering Handles
TITANTube® geotextile dewatering tubes are used to passively dewater a wide range of materials, including municipal biosolids, pulp and paper sludge, fly ash, contaminated sediments, and process waste from manufacturing and agriculture. Material is hydraulically pumped into the tube, water filters through the fabric, and solids are retained and consolidated inside. No mechanical equipment, power, or moving parts to break down.
Another practical consideration is that TITANTubes® act as horizontal silos, storing the solids until disposal or beneficial reuse is feasible.
For mechanically handled waste, TITANLiner™ offers a practical alternative. Designed to fit inside standard roll-off dumpsters in 20 cy and 30 cy sizes (with custom sizing also available), TITANLiner™ filters water from waste placed mechanically into the container, reducing the volume of liquid waste that requires hauling and disposal.
A Real-World Example of Scale
The Savanna Street Wastewater Treatment Plant project in Jackson, Mississippi illustrates what geotextile tube dewatering can achieve at scale. TITANTube® high flow rate dewatering tubes were used to contain and dewater approximately 92,000 dry tons of dredged solids — believed to be the largest municipal biosolids dredging project ever completed using geotextile tubes for dewatering. By stacking the tubes up to 4 tiers high, the entire operation was completed in just 2 dewatering cells, saving the city over $3 million in future solids handling costs. This approach also allowed the sludge to continue consolidating for a couple of years until the client had it hauled and land applied as part of a separate project.
Choosing the Right Approach
Geotextile tube dewatering is particularly well-suited to large volumes of hydraulically pumped or dredged material where passive dewatering is practical and cost-effective. TITANLiner™ is the better fit for smaller volumes of mechanically handled waste where roll-off container logistics are already part of the project. Flint’s team works directly with project owners and contractors to determine which approach is right for the specific material, volume, site conditions, and regulatory requirements of each project.
